Examples Of Anatomical Terminology
Anatomical Terminology
When studying anatomy for the first time, you may encounter descriptive or functional terms that are unfamiliar. Use of the correct anatomical terms for position, location, and direction is essential when describing a particular movement, exercise, or activity to a client or colleague.
Most anatomical terms have their roots in the Latin and Greek languages, and are usually quite descriptive. For example, many muscle names tell of the muscle’s location, shape, or action. To illustrate this point, let us use the anterior tibialis muscle as our example. Anterior means “toward the front” while tibialis refers to the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg. In this case, by knowing the meanings of the root words,
you now understand both the anatomical term and the location of this muscle–the anterior tibialis muscle is found on the front part of the tibia. Other important terms that describe anatomical positions are defined in the Table given below. A representation of anatomical position is given in figure below, along with the anatomical planes of motion.
When studying anatomy for the first time, you may encounter descriptive or functional terms that are unfamiliar. Use of the correct anatomical terms for position, location, and direction is essential when describing a particular movement, exercise, or activity to a client or colleague.
Most anatomical terms have their roots in the Latin and Greek languages, and are usually quite descriptive. For example, many muscle names tell of the muscle’s location, shape, or action. To illustrate this point, let us use the anterior tibialis muscle as our example. Anterior means “toward the front” while tibialis refers to the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg. In this case, by knowing the meanings of the root words,
you now understand both the anatomical term and the location of this muscle–the anterior tibialis muscle is found on the front part of the tibia. Other important terms that describe anatomical positions are defined in the Table given below. A representation of anatomical position is given in figure below, along with the anatomical planes of motion.